The test results of "Rock and Roll High School" were neither too good nor too bad. The two directors were a little disappointed. Roger Corman saw the test results, called a meeting on the spot, and decided to only produce 10 films.
Several copies were played in rotation in each state.
This old-fashioned distribution model has already been overturned by the new model of "Jaws" opening in hundreds or even thousands of theaters and being released simultaneously across the country.
The reason why Roger uses the old model is that he doesn't care about the box office performance of good movies, so in order to save the cost of copy production and reduce risks, he adopted the state-by-state carousel model.
A copy is a complete film, which is reprinted from the negative and can be played many times. Rather than initially producing hundreds of expensive film copies, releasing them simultaneously across the country, and then reaping box office bombs and ending up at a loss. Roger Coe
Mann's philosophy is always to put cost first. If the cost is low enough, it will be difficult for you to lose money.
Roger decided to show it in small states in the middle and south, such as Arizona and Georgia, and then transport the copies to the next state after the screening in one state. Not only did it save copy production costs, but the marketing was mainly done by local theaters.
Putting up posters eliminates the need for expensive TV and newspaper space.
If the box office in small states is high enough, then print some copies and show them in big cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. If the box office is average, then don't print more copies and let the movie slowly complete its life course.
It didn't exceed expectations, nor did it fall below the bottom line. It was still able to be released nationwide. Alan and Joe were a little disappointed, but also quite lucky. Ronald didn't know whether to comfort or congratulate the two directors.
Ronald went out to buy some Chinese food and brought it to the two directors. The two of them liked the Chinese food that had been improved to suit Western tastes. Ronald himself, on the other hand, preferred the original version. He often went to Mong Kok in Chinatown.
Eat at the restaurant.
The test screening was the first time the movie faced a real audience. The director's mentality was probably similar to that of a gambler waiting for the result. Ronald began to think about "Apocalypse Now" that night, and wondered what the great director Coppola would think of it.
Are you equally nervous about the test screening of your own movie?
Coppola, it turns out, was even more nervous.
Francis Coppola has a big beard, black-rimmed glasses, and has gained some weight.
"Please film critics and friends from the media, please do not publish film reviews after today's preview. What was previewed today is still a semi-finished product and incomplete. We will go to China next month to participate in the Cannes Film Festival, and then return to China to refine it.
This test screening is a temporary screening at the invitation of the Directors Guild and the Film Academy, so we kindly ask you not to publish reviews before the official release."
When Ronald walked in, he also saw many audience members who came in without invitations and showed their membership cards. They must be the film critics Coppola mentioned. Film critics for newspapers and magazines in the United States all enjoy this kind of privilege, no matter what
What kind of movie is it? You can watch it for free as long as you show your critic card.
After a senior executive from publisher United Artists made a brief speech, the lights were turned off and the screen went dark.
"嚚嚚嚚嚚..."
There was a faint sound of propellers. The sound alternated from left to right, strong and weak, and for a while it seemed to come from behind Ronald.
The audience turned their heads in surprise, trying to see the source of the sound.
"It's a new technology called surround sound..." Ronald heard someone whisper.
Is this a new technology? Ronald thought to himself, in the original movies, the sound was emitted from behind the screen, and the audience was used to it. Today, the propeller seems to be hovering behind his head, which is really a lot of experience.
On the dark screen, a sad background music sounded...
The screen gradually brightened, revealing a tropical coconut forest. Orange-red dust was lifted up by the wind, spinning upwards.
There was more and more dust, and the sound of the propeller became louder and louder.
The landing gear of a helicopter suddenly crossed the screen from left to right.
It's like the world has been awakened.
Suddenly there was a breeze in the coconut forest...
Napalm bombs fell into the coconut grove one after another, and orange-red explosion flames rose one after another, very much like the color of dust just now.
"Wow..." Ronald was really surprised. This beginning was unusual. He couldn't help but sit upright, waiting for the name of the movie and the subtitles to be announced.
No movie title! No subtitles appeared!
There was only a man's voice, and he began to sing softly. His voice was very special.
"This is the end..."
Why is it the ending just after the beginning?
Some people in the audience actually went, "Oh, this is the end of the Doors!"
Some people started clapping...
Ronald didn't understand how these people in the literary and artistic circles admired Jim Morrison, the lead singer of the Doors. Morrison, known as the rock poet, also had many fans in the literary and artistic circles.
This is the end this is the end...
my beautiful friend beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend my only friend, the end
Accompanied by poetic singing, the helicopter hovered over the coconut palms that were bombed into ruins.
Sometimes the tail is exposed, sometimes the propeller is exposed, and sometimes the landing gear is exposed.
An upside-down human face began to appear on the screen, staring at the audience with confused eyes, as if asking "Who am I and why am I here?"
The sound of propellers is getting closer and closer to the audience...
Just as Ronald was feeling more and more weird, the propeller transformed into a ceiling fan.
The ceiling fan was blowing hard, and the camera began to slowly rotate 180 degrees, and the owner of the face began to appear in the field of vision.
The opening music "Ending" gradually faded away, and the audience saw the protagonist resting on the bed in a tropical-style room, with a pistol thrown beside the bed.
The protagonist finally got up, walked to the window, and opened and closed the midnight window with his hand. There was warm sunshine outside.
The picture is finally no longer that weird orange-red color.
A soft voice came to mind.
Ronald was shocked. The speaker seemed to be whispering in his ear. How could this be done? The audience was also looking down at their feet to see if there were speakers hidden under the seats.
"Saigon, shxt, I'm still stuck in Saigon."
It turns out to be the inner monologue of the protagonist, so the helicopter and explosion just now are the protagonist's memories? This opening is really brilliant.
The protagonist turns out to be Captain Willard, an officer in the US military intelligence department. He accepts the mission and goes north along the Mekong River to investigate a US military officer who broke away from his command and organized his own private army, Colonel Coates. When circumstances permit, he eliminates Colonel Coates.
Coates himself.
Willard formed a special team and traveled by boat, encountering all kinds of strange people and strange things along the way.
The colonel who commands a helicopter formation, rides the Valkyrie, and bombs villages, all he wants to do is surf.
The cover girl who flew in from the United States to work for the army wore a bikini and sang for the frontline soldiers. However, she was surrounded by the soldiers. She wanted to spend the night and finally climbed into a helicopter to escape.
Soldiers on the front line held a fireworks show. On the other side of the beautiful fireworks were soldiers on duty firing machine guns in the trenches.
The team went ashore to rest, and met a tiger in the rainforest...and were scared to death.
The team that finally arrived at their destination found Colonel Coates with the help of an American field photographer.
Coates has become an evil leader, killing and taking away the lives of his subordinates. He hopes that Willard will inherit his status and career. The leaders held a sacrificial ceremony and slaughtered a bull alive, and everyone cheered, as if
He worshiped him like God.
Team leader Willard seized the last opportunity, hacked Coates to death with a bull's knife, and led the remaining team members to leave this strange place. Before leaving, he called for bombers and blew up Colonel Coates's house.
Camp.
The ending music is the ending of The Doors again, and the whole film seems to be about a reincarnation.
"Apocalypse Now" hasn't been finalized yet. There are still many copies of the test screenings that haven't been processed. Either the screen suddenly goes black or there is a "stutter" sound. There are no cast or crew subtitles in the entire movie. There is only one shot on the wall.
Wrote the words "Apocalypse Now".
I don’t know if it was because I didn’t have time to do it, or if the director did it on purpose.
The film, which lasted about 2 hours and 20 minutes, ended and the lights in the screening room were turned on. The audience began to whisper among each other.
I don't know what others think, but Ronald was deeply fascinated by this movie.
The film seems to be telling a strange dream. The protagonist Willard is always narrating the words in his ears, and it also seems to be a dreamer telling a story to himself.
The creative team was invited to the stage, and some members of the audience began to applaud enthusiastically.